28 Days Raw Challenge:Part Deux

Exercising off the intertubes (sort of)

2010-11-15T23:12:00.010-06:00

Can you be considered a lurker if it is on your own blog? I am about, I just have not gotten a post written in a while.

I have taken up running on the treadmills after work so I have not been posting any workouts lately. The battery on my foot pod is dead and it seems a little silly to upload workouts with just the heart rate data on it.

I have however been getting some running in. I ran on MWF the 1st, 3rd, 5th, WF the 10th, 12th and today, Monday the 15th. The distances were 1.5, 1.75, 2.0, 1.75, 3.1 and 3.1 miles. That is right kids, I have built back up to my 5k distance a week before my scheduled run. (for those that don't remember I am scheduled to do the Gobble Grind 5k this Sunday) Hooray for me! :)

It is nice that my company provides a workout room. We have 4 treadmills, 5 ellipticals and 5 stationary bikes along with a few dumbells. (along with 3 foosball and 5 ping pong tables) The only thing that sucks about the room is that there is no TV, no radio, if I am lucky there may be one more person there running but otherwise it is a 30' x 60' room with nothing going on. It is enough to make you die from boredom when you are running for 40+ minutes with no visual or audio stimulus. Am I finished yet?

I still do not have an "official" weigh in. The last time I used the "official scale" at work with weight and body fat percentage the batteries were dead in it. Last Friday I did get on one of the other scales in the workout room after running 3 miles...I came in at 299. I am hanging steady but I had to take a notch up on the belt the other day. I must be building my legs up again. Then again the measurements from the last post show that I am slimming down.

Well I am off to bed readers. I have noticed that I need more sleep and I sleep harder than I was before running so much. Good thing I have the house now instead of the apartment, the neighbors would be beating on the walls to get me to turn the alarm down.

I am reading Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker, author of a blog by the same name, and he had a good quote that caught my eye today...Health is the presence of something positive, rather than the absence of something negative.

Tim VanOrden of Running Raw said something similar a year or two ago. I paraphrase: if modern medicine's goal is to get you to a "feel good" state of zero from a scale of -100 to 0 just imagine what you would feel like if you ate right and exercised, going from 0 to +100. Wouldn't that be amazing.

(a bunch of my awesome, holistically energetic and health-conscious friends at a birthday bash/going-away party over the weekend...I am on the left)

'night all...

New monthly measurements are in

2010-11-06T13:44:00.003-05:00

Woohoo new measurements are in and they are surprisingly good. Apparently I now have a neck again. Had a nice loss on my chest and waist too. Guess I need to get on the scale again to see what the weight has done in the last few weeks that I have missed.

11/6/10 [fixed date to Nov from Oct]
Right Arm below Tricep - 13.5" (-.25")
Chest (arms up) - 49" (-3")
Waist (at navel) - 48" (-2")
Hips - 49" (-.5")
Right Thigh - 25"
Right Calf - 18.5" (-.25")
Neck - 19" (-.75")

9/26/10
Right Arm below Tricep - 13.75"
Chest (arms up) - 52"
Waist (at navel) - 50"
Hips - 49.5"
Right Thigh - 25"
Right Calf - 19"
Neck - 19.75"

Let them eat cake, the weekly weigh in

2010-10-15T08:27:00.003-05:00

OK, I was a little bummed out this week with the weigh in. On both Sunday and Tuesday I did liquid-only fasts and was feelin' skinny. As I mentioned in yesterday's post though I have a few caveats for this week's numbers:

I switched to jeans instead of shorts
I forgot to empty my pockets when I weighed (two key rings, wallet, cell phone)
and the scale's battery was almost dead

I figure the first two were enough to add an additional pound or two. The third point could completely mess things up all by itself. Officially it was a loss, albeit a small one. I guess we will see if things average out next week, assuming that they put in fresh batteries.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Weight 299.6 (-0.2)
BF% 39.1 (-0.1%)
Fat lost (+0.2)

Total lost: 15.2 lbs

Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Weight 299.8 (-1.8)
BF% 39.0 (+0.1%)
Fat lost (-0.4)

Total lost: 15.0 lbs

Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Weight 301.6 (-2.0)
BF% 38.9 (-2.0%)
Fat lost (-6.9)

Total lost: 13.2 lbs

Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Weight 303.6 (-11.2)
BF% 40.9 (+4.4%)
Fat lost (+9.3)

Total lost: 11.2lbs

Friday, August 6, 2010
Weight 314.8
BF% 36.5

Catching up the run logs

2010-10-14T20:38:00.003-05:00

Hi guys. I realized that I was letting my run logs were stacking up on me and figured I was due for a post.

Last week I only made it out for two runs. I snapped the pic below after my Thursday run. Either I had some kind of reaction to the mushrooms that I found on the 3rd or I somehow got a the weirdest chigger outbreak I've ever had. Anyway I ended up with these itchy red hives from the ankles all the way up both legs and a spot or two on my upper body. I noticed the breakout on Tues. the 5th and I still have less itchy spots today, the 14th.

Anyway it was either being cautious or being lazy but I didn't want to push it last week just in case I had any type of respiratory inflammation associated with the breakout.

This week I got out on Tuesday & today and got some miles in. I ran out 2 miles and varied how much running I did on the way back in.

I am going to be a glutton for punishment and go out mushroom foraging again on Saturday with the KC Outdoor Adventure Group (event link here). Sunday I am going to shoot for doing the virtual 5k event on Facebook (link). This is basically just one of those get out and do sumthin' type of events...no set location, no set time, just go do it.

I forgot my weekly Wednesday weigh-in post it at work again. Officially nothing much happened but I have a few caveats/bitches about this week's reading. If I remember I will make a post in the morning when I get to work.

Wednesday weigh-in

2010-10-06T11:01:00.004-05:00

I am back to being good this week for the most part so far. We are having a pizza lunch at work today for all the folks with birthdays this quarter. I shall try to limit my consumption and stick to veggie lovers but I make no promises. I am due for a run this evening so I will try to work off some of the extra calories...

Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Weight 299.8 (-1.8)
BF% 39.0 (+0.1%)
Fat lost (-0.4)

Total lost: 15.0 lbs

Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Weight 301.6 (-2.0)
BF% 38.9 (-2.0%)
Fat lost (-6.9)

Total lost: 13.2 lbs

Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Weight 303.6 (-11.2)
BF% 40.9 (+4.4%)
Fat lost (+9.3)

Total lost: 11.2lbs

Friday, August 6, 2010
Weight 314.8
BF% 36.5

Tea time, miles completed & a fine day off

2010-10-04T19:51:00.002-05:00

Greetings friends, family and thrill seekers. How in the world did you manage to find this blog? :)

I made use of some of my stockpiled PTO and made it a three day weekend. I've come to the conclusion that I need to take a few more of those.

The Bad
It has been a week since the last post; I have shamed myself into action. For shame that I skipped out on running all week for being too tired or letting other things postpone my run. For shame that I spent the last week eating so poorly that I refused to do the weigh in on Wednesday.

As well as The Good
I joined my buddy J.R.'s KC Outdoor Adventuring Meetup group. Between Saturday and Sunday I spent 6 hours hiking out in the woods mushroom hunting. While I am certainly poorly equipped for the off the beaten path activities I had a great time doing it. We are already discussing taking climbers instruction classes for bouldering and tentatively thinking about a group skydiving day. One of our members has over 1000 jumps under her belt.

While out hunting yesterday I found a choice wild Reishi mushroom on the base of a stump sticking 4 inches out of the ground. After doing a water fast all day while it was brewing I am tonight sipping Reishi Tea as I compose this post. While I have had it before this is the first batch I have ever made. J.R said I found enough to make about 5 batches (gallons) so I will be enjoying it for a while.

I did remember to bring the Forerunner to record a track log the 2nd day out. We made it two miles in a couple hours. Wish I would have remembered the 1st day when we were out almost 4 hours across the lake to the southeast shown below.

I also got a run in this afternoon. I could tell that I had not went out in a week. That is OK though because everything goes in cycles. I get another chance to improve.

After all else is said and done today I went to the store tonight and got 3# of apples and 2# of grapes. I am going to try and get more raw again. The carb-cycling thing worked ok but I am not feeling the energetic 'uplift' I did when I was last on the raw eating way.

Now, what to do with those three dozen eggs in the fridge...

'Til next time.

Vital statistics exposed, film at eleven

2010-09-26T19:33:00.002-05:00

I debated whether to share this post with my Facebook friends. It is one thing to be an anonymous voice on the web but to hang out all you are to all your friends is another; I think measurements are a pretty personal thing and many would be scared to post them online. However, I started this thing two years ago to have accountability, so (in my best Yoda voice) share them I will.

9/26/10
Right Arm below Tricep - 13.75"
Chest (arms up) - 52"
Waist (at navel) - 50"
Hips - 49.5"
Right Thigh - 25"
Right Calf - 19"
Neck - 19.75"

I do find it somewhat interesting looking at the variations in the measurements from this post to what I posted January last year where I was at the same weight. (check the archives) A little bigger here, a little smaller there. One point I might mention with today's stats...these were made a hour after my run vs. sitting at home after getting up in the morning. Didn't know if perhaps the legs might still be swollen from exercise. Eh. It will all average out I guess.

I am about due for another video. It has been a month and I'm down something like 15 lbs. My 42 jeans are comfortable, I got to tighten a notch on the belt and I think my face is thinner. I'll try and get something posted this week.

I got out today and pushed out another half mile gain onto my normal run distance. I ran 2.5 miles in the cool morning breeze. Not bad for a 300lb guy a month back into a fitness routine.

Some numbers return

2010-09-23T17:33:00.002-05:00

I forgot my vital stats last night at the office so you get them a day late. Still no measurements, maybe this weekend.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Weight 301.6 (-2.0)
BF% 38.9 (-2.0%)
Fat lost (-6.9)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Weight 303.6 (-11.2)
BF% 40.9 (+4.4%)
Fat lost (+9.3)

Friday, August 6, 2010
Weight 314.8
BF% 36.5

Does anybody find it interesting that, with my readings anyway, the first result week after a start shows a jump in body fat? I lost 11 lbs in that time period but I gained 9 lbs of body fat. Then the next week the math says I lost 2 lbs but almost 7lbs of fat. Is that just the water getting rung out of the system? I don't think that is it because I had a 32oz smoothie on the 21st after my run in the evening. My weigh in was at 8:45am the following morning.

Strange.

Today was a good day

2010-09-21T20:04:00.002-05:00

The title says it all. I managed to control my mouth and stomach today and got by with a couple chicken breasts, a can of corn, several glasses of iced tea and a strawberry/banana/apple juice smoothie.

I was also able to bear the humidity and shuffle out a 2 mile run this evening after work. Like I said on Facebook, it isn't fast and it isn't pretty but I got the job done. Three and a half weeks from nothing to 2 miles sounds good to me.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day so I should have a new set of numbers for you. Stay tuned.

Back on some type of wagon

2010-09-19T12:19:00.003-05:00

Hi all. Somebody left me a comment last week that I had not made a post in over a year. Quite true. Oddly enough I am getting back into something of a groove to kick-start myself into action with my diet and exercise. I just got home from a run and figured I would kick a post out for you all. See the video below for that I posted on YouTube a few weeks ago.

While I have not made it back to raw yet I have changed my eating habits and started to run again.

As another incentive to keep my running up I have registered for the Gobbler Grind 5k in November. That gives me almost two months to double my mileage, which should not be a problem since in three weeks that I have been running again I have went from .5 mile to 1.5 miles. (and if you followed the blog last year you know I went from zero to five miles in a few months)

I must confess to you guys that I am not back on the raw diet, however, I am eating a whole lot more veggies now than I was last month. I am doing a modified carb-cycling diet that is based on that plan I found on Scooby's Workshop. My previous last weigh-in was from early August (so no exact beginning weigh-in point) but as of 4 days ago I am down 11 pounds from my high of 315.

I'll let y'all go for now. Gotta go make my scrambled egg whites and veggies for lunch. Until next time.

Ok now, this is ridiculous.

2009-09-08T17:19:00.003-05:00

My how the time flies. Between projects at work, family crisis and just the plain ol' movement of life it has been almost 4 months since I last posted. Sorry about that folks.

I am sad to say that I pretty much abandoned running in June. Here in the Kansas City area it rained pretty much the whole month and with what I suspect was over-training lethargy I just didn't want to run any more. I feel bad because after doing so well with Natalie's fitness program at work the 1st 12 weeks I sputtered and fell out of it the 2nd 12 weeks.

If you were interested I had 6 interim weigh-ins and an additional measurement post I could make but at this point i say let's just skip 'em and get on with the show.

Here is my restart point as of today:

Weight: 294.8
Body Fat %: 37.6

Neck: 19"
Arm: 12.5"
Chest: 49"
Waist: 48"
Hips: 48.5"
Thigh: 25.75"
Calf: 18"

I guess officially I am still down 20lbs for the year but it hurts to say I was at one point down almost 50lbs. I do feel like I have some level of fitness left but I would hate to see how far my running distance has fallen off. I guess I will find out though some time in the near future. Maybe Thursday.

The reinvention of self in 2009 has stalled out a bit. I've got the eyes seeing at 20/15, last month I bought the luxury car I loved from my younger years but now I need to work on the hardest part of my reinvention, my physical self.

I have ~4 months left this year. It is time to get back to work.

Weigh In - May 18

2009-05-18T09:22:00.002-05:00

Monday, May 18, 2009
Weight 267.6 (-2.8)
BF% 32.8 (-0.9)
Fat lost (- 3.4)

Monday, May 11, 2009
Weight 270.4 (+2.0)
BF% 33.7 (+2.3)
Fat lost (+6.8) WTF?

Monday, May 4, 2009
Weight 268.4 (+0.6)
BF% 31.4 (-1.0)
Fat lost (- 2.5)

Monday, April 27, 2009
Weight 274.4 (+4.4)
BF% 28.5 (-3.9)
Returned readings are gooned up...ignoring this week

Monday, April 20, 2009
Weight 267.8 (-3.6)
BF% 32.4 (-0.9)
Fat lost (- 3.6)

Monday, April 13, 2009
Weight 271.4 (-3.0)
BF% 33.3 (+0.5)

Monday, April 6, 2009
Weight 274.4 (+0.4)
BF% 32.5 (-0.2)

Monday, March 30, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-3.4)
BF% 32.7 (-1.6)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Weight 277.4 (+3.4)
BF% 34.3 (-0.7)

Monday, March 16, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-5.8)
BF% 35.2 (-2.1)

Monday, March 9, 2009
Weight 279.8 (-3.8)
BF% 37.3 (+0.6)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Weight ??? (away from scale)

BF% ??? (away from scale)

Monday, February 23, 2009
Weight 283.6 (-4.2)
BF% 36.7 (-2.5)

Monday, February 16, 2009
Weight 287.8 (-6.4)
BF% 39.2 (-0.0)

Monday, February 09, 2009
Weight 294.2 (-8.2)
BF% 39.2 (-0.3)

Monday, February 02, 2009
Weight 302.4 (-7.0)
BF% 39.5 (+1.8)

Monday, January 26, 2009
Weight 309.4 (-5.6)
BF% 37.7 (+3.2)

Monday, January 19, 2009
Weight 315
BF% 34.9

Weigh In - May 11

2009-05-18T09:00:00.002-05:00

Monday, May 11, 2009
Weight 270.4 (+2.0)
BF% 33.7 (+2.3)
Fat lost (+6.8) WTF?

Monday, May 4, 2009
Weight 268.4 (+0.6)
BF% 31.4 (-1.0)
Fat lost (- 2.5)

Monday, April 27, 2009
Weight 274.4 (+4.4)
BF% 28.5 (-3.9)
Returned readings are gooned up...ignoring this week

Monday, April 20, 2009
Weight 267.8 (-3.6)
BF% 32.4 (-0.9)
Fat lost (- 3.6)

Monday, April 13, 2009
Weight 271.4 (-3.0)
BF% 33.3 (+0.5)

Monday, April 6, 2009
Weight 274.4 (+0.4)
BF% 32.5 (-0.2)

Monday, March 30, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-3.4)
BF% 32.7 (-1.6)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Weight 277.4 (+3.4)
BF% 34.3 (-0.7)

Monday, March 16, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-5.8)
BF% 35.2 (-2.1)

Monday, March 9, 2009
Weight 279.8 (-3.8)
BF% 37.3 (+0.6)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Weight ??? (away from scale)

BF% ??? (away from scale)

Measurements - May 2

2009-05-05T09:42:00.002-05:00

5/02/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 13.0" (+.25")
Chest (arms up) - 47.0" (-.5")
Waist (at navel) - 45.0" (+.25")
Hips - 46.5" (-.5")
Right Thigh - 24.5" (+.25")
Right Calf - 18.0" (+.5")
Neck - 18.0" (-.125")

An interesting month. I admit that I spent most of the month at about 50-60% raw. Looking at my weight change I lost 6 lbs last month and according to the math 4.9 lbs of that was fat. I will do better in May.

4/05/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 12.75" (-.25")
Chest (arms up) - 47.50" (-.25")
Waist (at navel) - 44.75" (-1.75")
Hips - 47" (-1")
Right Thigh - 24.25" (-.5")
Right Calf - 17.5" (-.75")
Neck - 18.125" (-.125")

3/01/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 13" (-1")
Chest (arms up) - 47.75" (-2")
Waist (at navel) - 46.5" (-2.5")
Hips - 48" (-2")
Right Thigh - 24.75" (-1")
Right Calf - 18.25" (-.25")
Neck - 18.25" (-1.25")

1/31/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 14" (-0")
Chest (arms up) - 49.75" (-.25")
Waist (at navel) - 49" (-1")
Hips - 50" (-0")
Right Thigh - 25.75" (-1.25")
Right Calf - 18.5" (-.25")
Neck - 19.5" (-.25")

12/26/08
Right Arm below Tricep - 14"
Chest (arms up) - 51"
Waist (at navel) - 50"
Hips - 50"
Right Thigh - 27"
Right Calf - 18.75"
Neck - 19.75"

Weigh-In May 4th

2009-05-05T09:34:00.002-05:00

Monday, May 4, 2009
Weight 268.4 (+0.6)
BF% 31.4 (-1.0)
Fat lost (- 2.5)

Monday, April 27, 2009
Weight 274.4 (+4.4)
BF% 28.5 (-3.9)
Returned readings are gooned up...ignoring this week

Monday, April 20, 2009
Weight 267.8 (-3.6)
BF% 32.4 (-0.9)
Fat lost (- 3.6)

Monday, April 13, 2009
Weight 271.4 (-3.0)
BF% 33.3 (+0.5)

Monday, April 6, 2009
Weight 274.4 (+0.4)
BF% 32.5 (-0.2)

Monday, March 30, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-3.4)
BF% 32.7 (-1.6)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Weight 277.4 (+3.4)
BF% 34.3 (-0.7)

Monday, March 16, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-5.8)
BF% 35.2 (-2.1)

Monday, March 9, 2009
Weight 279.8 (-3.8)
BF% 37.3 (+0.6)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Weight ??? (away from scale)

BF% ??? (away from scale)

Weigh In April 20

2009-04-20T10:00:00.002-05:00

Monday, April 20, 2009
Weight 267.8 (-3.6)
BF% 32.4 (-0.9)
Fat lost (- 3.6)

Monday, April 13, 2009
Weight 271.4 (-3.0)
BF% 33.3 (+0.5)

Monday, April 6, 2009
Weight 274.4 (+0.4)
BF% 32.5 (-0.2)

Monday, March 30, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-3.4)
BF% 32.7 (-1.6)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Weight 277.4 (+3.4)
BF% 34.3 (-0.7)

Monday, March 16, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-5.8)
BF% 35.2 (-2.1)

Monday, March 9, 2009
Weight 279.8 (-3.8)
BF% 37.3 (+0.6)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Weight ??? (away from scale)

BF% ??? (away from scale)

Weigh-In April 13

2009-04-13T10:05:00.001-05:00

Monday, April 13, 2009
Weight 271.4 (-3.0)
BF% 33.3 (+0.5)

Monday, March 30, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-3.4)
BF% 32.7 (-1.6)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Weight 277.4 (+3.4)
BF% 34.3 (-0.7)

Monday, March 16, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-5.8)
BF% 35.2 (-2.1)

Monday, March 9, 2009
Weight 279.8 (-3.8)
BF% 37.3 (+0.6)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Weight ??? (away from scale)

BF% ??? (away from scale)

Deux + 3

2009-04-09T12:18:00.002-05:00

It is a day late in coming but I did not forget yesterday's post.

The weather here was so nice yesterday that I got out and did some laps around the lake across the street. Four laps = ~3 miles and I got it done in a little over 36 minutes. Is it bad form to plow over the 5 year old who keeps running into your path when you lap them?

Still light eating, I have not made it to the store yet.

2 Larabars
Blueberry Blast smoothie sans the yogurt from Smoothie Factory
sunflower seeds for dinner

Hooray the taxes are mailed...

Deux + 2

2009-04-07T21:43:00.004-05:00

I made it through another 30 minute run today without any blisters on the areas that are peeling from a few weeks back. I can feel the spots get a little tender during my time but I am being careful to not relapse. It was also nice to see a new face today from work at the YMCA exercising. Keep it up Jessica!

I survived on a sparse fare today; definitely a calorie deficient day. I have to go to the store on the way back from working out tomorrow just to have something for lunch. Food here at the apt would be nice too.

Today's chow:
3 bananas
2 Larabars
some celery sticks
Bubbies raw sauerkraut

Part 2 Redo

2009-04-06T21:53:00.002-05:00

The day came at long last and was gone. The rescheduled Olathe Marathon was run this last Saturday and I participated in the 5k race. After all my talk over the last month I was able to complete the run with a time of 39:18. While it wasn't as good as I was hoping for it was a 21% improvement over my last race in January, lowering my time by almost 11 minutes.

My next scheduled run is a 4-miler on April 26th...the Kansas City Trolley Run. We will see if I can tack on that extra mile in the next three weeks.

Today marks the beginning of our second 12 week fitness program a work so I thought this would also make a good point to redouble my efforts staying raw.

I have been slipping here and there the last few weeks without having to face y'all as my accountability board. So if you can stand the volume of posts I am going to force myself to post consistently about what I eat. I may not group things by meal but I will try to post any new recipes I try out.

So today:

3 bananas
Peanut Butter Chew Larabar
almonds
Salsa Soup
Apple Pie Larabar
almonds
Horchata Slushie...no, not raw. A moment of celebratory weakness.

Tomorrow is another day so we shall see how it goes. Until then, be excellent to each other...

Weigh-In April 6

2009-04-06T21:23:00.003-05:00

Monday, April 6, 2009
Weight 274.4 (+0.4)
BF% 32.5 (-0.2)

Now that I understand it I find the whole body fat percentage thing quite interesting. This week I gained 4/10 of a pound of mass but I lost 4/10 of a pound of body fat if you go by the math.

In that line of thinking since I started raw the beginning of February I've lost 28.0 lbs. According to the math of body fat percentage I've lost 30.2 lbs. ((302.4*.395) - (274.4*.325)) So what does that mean? Did I lose 30 lbs of fat and gain 2 lbs of muscle in 9 weeks?

That is what it looks like to me. Cool.

Monday, March 30, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-3.4)
BF% 32.7 (-1.6)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Weight 277.4 (+3.4)
BF% 34.3 (-0.7)

Monday, March 16, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-5.8)
BF% 35.2 (-2.1)

Monday, March 9, 2009
Weight 279.8 (-3.8)
BF% 37.3 (+0.6)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Weight ??? (away from scale)

BF% ??? (away from scale)

Measurements - April 5th

2009-04-05T12:36:00.003-05:00

4/05/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 12.75" (-.25")
Chest (arms up) - 47.50" (-.25")
Waist (at navel) - 44.75" (-1.75")
Hips - 47" (-1")
Right Thigh - 24.25" (-.5")
Right Calf - 17.5" (-.75")
Neck - 18.125" (-.125")

3/01/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 13" (-1")
Chest (arms up) - 47.75" (-2")
Waist (at navel) - 46.5" (-2.5")
Hips - 48" (-2")
Right Thigh - 24.75" (-1")
Right Calf - 18.25" (-.25")
Neck - 18.25" (-1.25")

1/31/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 14" (-0")
Chest (arms up) - 49.75" (-.25")
Waist (at navel) - 49" (-1")
Hips - 50" (-0")
Right Thigh - 25.75" (-1.25")
Right Calf - 18.5" (-.25")
Neck - 19.5" (-.25")

12/26/08
Right Arm below Tricep - 14"
Chest (arms up) - 51"
Waist (at navel) - 50"
Hips - 50"
Right Thigh - 27"
Right Calf - 18.75"
Neck - 19.75"

Weigh-In March 30

2009-04-05T12:29:00.002-05:00

Monday, March 30, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-3.4)
BF% 32.7 (-1.6)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Weight 277.4 (+3.4)
BF% 34.3 (-0.7)

Monday, March 16, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-5.8)
BF% 35.2 (-2.1)

Monday, March 9, 2009
Weight 279.8 (-3.8)
BF% 37.3 (+0.6)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Weight ??? (away from scale)

BF% ??? (away from scale)

Larabars and the broken bod

2009-03-19T18:59:00.002-05:00

Hi guys. It has been a few days since my last blathering and I figured a couple updates were in order.

1. I was going on about my running on Monday about how I made my 3 mile run goal. I decided to ignore and/or run around my remaining blister discomfort on Tuesday. I think all that got me was 2 more blisters on different parts of my feet. Grrr.

2. My sore back from early last week returned on Wednesday. One suspect cause could have been the change in my stride from the last two runs mentioned in #1. So my planned recovery day Wednesday has extended at least today and I figure the rest of this week just to be sure. Sorry Natalie...

3. I am taking the healing extra time because Saturday next week I am registered to run the 5k in the Olathe Marathon. I don't want to miss out on that one just for logging miles this week while injured. I've been training for two months now improving my run time for a race.

4. Ummm, yeah...I discovered that eating a cup+ of raw pumpkin seed kernels in one sitting will...keep you busy a few hours later. It was a shame it was the day after St. Patrick's Day. Note to self, self...don't do that again.

5. On a similar note this last weekend I discovered pretty quickly that my system can't handle cooked/processed hot stuff any more. I was at a salad bar and put pickled jalapenos & also their pico de gallo on my salad to kick it up a bit. The next day I added a little Chalula hot sauce to another salad to flavor it; I couldn't really even taste the heat. In both cases my guts were upset and had to made a beeline for the little room. I guess all the buffers and mucus and stuff are out of my system now since I went raw because I could eat all kinds of hot stuff before. Dad will tell you that hot stuff was almost a food group by itself for me. :(

At least I can still handle my own fresh salsa.

And last but not least, just for my own reference, I wanted to list the flavors of Larabars I've been having over the last couple weeks. These are raw food bars with a minimal ingredient list. I know there are sites that give recipes to reconstruct them on your own but I have a stack of wrappers here I would like to keep track of.

Pistachio - dates, pistachios, cashews
Banana Bread - almonds, dates, bananas
Apple Pie - dates, almonds, apples, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon
Pecan Pie - dates, pecans, almonds
Cherry Pie - dates, almonds, cherries
Key Lime Pie - dates, cashews, almonds, coconut, lime juice
Cinnamon Roll - dates, walnuts, almonds, raisins, cashews, cinnamon
Cocoa Mole - dates, almonds, walnuts, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chili
Ginger Snap - dates, almonds, pecans, ginger, cinnamon, cloves

Exercise update

2009-03-16T22:20:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure if I mentioned it but with my vision correction surgery recovery I had to lay off the running for about a week and a half. It is funny how you can catch the running bug and when you can't do it you about go stir-crazy.

Well after 13 days off I got back on the treadmill. Last Thursday I thought I would ease back into it and ran 2 miles. That seemed to go well so Friday I tried to push it back up to my normal 2.5 miles with the end result of a blister on each foot, but made the distance.

Back in December I had to 'apply' for a spot in the fitness focus group at work. We all had to give some examples of what we would like to accomplist with the program. At the time I felt an aggressive weight loss goal was 40 pounds. Along with the completion of my weight loss goal two weeks early I figured why not go for my running goal as well. So today I tacked on another .5 mi and achieved my goal of a continuous run of 3 miles. It is slow at a 12 minute mile pace but it is complete...including another small blister.

The initial 12 week program ends, I think, a week from Thursday and I am also signed up for the 5k race portion of the Olathe Marathon the following weekend. I guess now I can shoot for a better time. I've already knocked a good 14 minutes off of my 5k time in a month and a half so it is all gravy from here right? :)

Think I can drop another 9 lbs in a week and a half to make it an even 50?

Weigh-In March 16

2009-03-16T11:19:00.002-05:00

How about that...another ~6 lbs lost this week. That makes 41 pounds in 8 weeks of effort.

It is interesting to note that in the 3 weeks that I was not following the raw food WOE that my body fat percentage went up and every week that I stayed good it went down. I started raw on Feb 1st. March 3rd-7th I ate cooked foods and pretty much what I wanted before going raw again last week.

Monday, March 16, 2009
Weight 274.0 (-5.8)
BF% 35.2 (-2.1)

Monday, March 9, 2009
Weight 279.8 (-3.8)
BF% 37.3 (+0.6)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Weight ??? (away from scale)

BF% ??? (away from scale)

Monday Weigh-In, March 9

2009-03-11T09:38:00.002-05:00

After one week being raw and another week eating about anything cooked along with no exercise I was pleasantly surprised to find I lost 4 pounds over the two week period. That makes a total of 36 pounds in 7 weeks. :)

Monday, March 9, 2009
Weight 279.8
BF% 37.3

Monday, February 23, 2009
Weight 283.6
BF% 36.7

Monday, February 16, 2009
Weight 287.8
BF% 39.2

Monday, February 09, 2009
Weight 294.2
BF% 39.2

Monday, February 02, 2009
Weight 302.4
BF% 39.5

Monday, January 26, 2009
Weight 309.4
BF% 37.7

Monday, January 19, 2009
Weight 315
BF% 34.9

My non-bikini body

2009-03-08T17:48:00.004-05:00

Hi all. I finally got around to doing a vid where I do a little twirl for you to see the shape I am in. As you heard the inspiration came from Lori Painter's blog at inspire2act.blogspot.com.

I saw where Lori decided to stop her bikini body challenge but I thought I would attempt to drive away readership of this site by posting my bod for all to see. :) While I am much more impressed with her starting point I guess given my overall current condition I have potentially more to gain in 4 weeks. (If you are reading this Lori, please take that to mean you look great already, because you do.)

Since I am going to shoot for another four weeks raw, and since I did not have any before pictures from the last time, I thought I should have a little video evidence of what I looked like at the start of this cycle.

I should have an official weight and body fat percentage for you tomorrow. Stay tuned...

The experiment revisited

2009-03-07T19:17:00.002-06:00

Hello all. It has been a week since the 'conclusion' of my 28 day raw experiment. From the last round of posts you saw the inches lost in the month of February. I apologize I never did get an official end-of-week 4 weight for you. The scale is at work and I wasn't.

As something of an anti-experiment but more to selfishly reward myself for sticking with it for a month this last week I have broken all the rules and tried eating cooked foods again and for the last couple days I have had meat in my diet as well. With that confession I have also made some observations. In less than a week the volume of cooked food that I am eating has grown to at least triple what I was eating raw. (I don't look it but I am slightly worried about the weigh-in on Monday) The other thing I noticed it that once I started having processed stuff I am having serious cravings for ALL the bad stuff that I shouldn't be having...fries, sauces, burgers, take out, buffets, everything that got me into the shape I was in before.

To that end, I am going to make it end again. With the possible exception of a vegetarian Indian lunch next week I am going to reboot the experiment for another 4 weeks. Making up week 9 I missed this week with my surgery recovery that leaves 4 weeks left in my fitness program at work as well. That would put the end of 28DRC:2 on April 5th.

This time around I am not going to make so many posts. I don't envy those pro bloggers and can see why a lot of part timers completely quit. Honestly it becomes a chore after a while. For lack of material and inspiration I go months sometimes between posts on my other blog.

I remembered to bring my bigger memory card home from work so I will endeavor to post more video entries. The daily food & exercise stuff will more than likely go bye-bye unless I have a new recipe or something irregular happens. You guys can see what I had the last month; I'm not planning to change much from what you've seen the last month.

You guys are the readers of this blog. Do you want me to keep up the daily stuff or do something else? What do you want to see?

Soooo, I think I'll start this round tomorrow the same way as the 1st 4 weeks. A one day water and/or juice fast. And away we go...

Day 29?

2009-03-01T20:28:00.002-06:00

Day 29 you say? What kind of 28 day challenge is this? I'm going for the bonus points. What do you think folks, should I keep posting these entries as long as the weight loss and health improvements keep up? It is day 29 and I'm still going...

I did have one small indulgence today. I had half a slice of my mother's home made bread...water, flour, salt and yeast. I figured with a month under my belt I could treat myself a touch.

This last Wednesday I had the opportunity to hear Kevin Gianni from The Renegade Health Show speak here in Overland Park on their nationwide tour. One point he made is that we can't keep ourselves so rigid in our diet/WOE that we deny ourselves all pleasure in life. Do the best you can and take a portion of your consumed food and allocate it for fun. Don't worry about if it does or does not meet the dogmatic confines of your diet. Just take that 5% or 10% and enjoy now and then.

Exercise
-none-

Food
Breakfast
Cherry Pie Larabar

Lunch
salad
frozen fruit- mango, pineapple, papaya, strawberries, blueberries

Snack
Apple Pie Larabar

Dinner
smoothie - cashew butter, kale, apple, banana, goji berries, water

Health Assessment

2009-03-01T13:39:00.002-06:00

I was debating whether to post these but since you are observing my raw journey you might appreciate some quantitative numbers. Keep it to yourselves though, we don't want this getting to the wrong people. :)

That said I really don't have any 'before' numbers other than that my blood pressure was 149/80 when I gave blood at work right around Christmas.

This week we had a health assessment as part of a wellness program at work. This included an 80 question lifestyle questionnaire on exercise, nutrition, habits, etc.. We also had a physical assessment where the technicians drew blood and ran the analysis for several tests.

Here are my particulars:

Height 6'-2"
Weight 284
Waist 46"
BP 130/80 (a pretty quick reading, I should get another one)
Glucose 91
Total Cholesterol 152
HDL Cholesterol 37
LDL Cholesterol 88
Ratio TC/HDL 4.0
Triglycerides 130
BMI 36.5
Body Fat 34.8%

I would say those look pretty good for a guy who a month ago would go out to buffet lunches 4 days a week. A typical day would be 4-5 plates of pizza with 4-6 pieces each or 15 tacos at the all-you-can-eat-taco day.

Maybe I will save the contrasts of my two ways of eating for another post...

Measurements - March 1st

2009-03-01T13:12:00.002-06:00

It is the 'end-of-the-month' Sunday so that means it is time to take some new measurements. As much poundage as I've lost and how skinny I look, if I say so myself, I am a little surprised that I have not lost more on the tape. I guess I just look better because everything is getting smaller.

Here you go...

3/01/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 13" (-1")
Chest (arms up) - 47.75" (-2")
Waist (at navel) - 46.5" (-2.5")
Hips - 48" (-2")
Right Thigh - 24.75" (-1")
Right Calf - 18.25" (-.25")
Neck - 18.25" (-1.25")

I would say that is a pretty good reduction for a month's worth of effort. From Feb 2 through Feb 23rd I am down 19 lbs. My official weigh in for this last week will have to wait until Tuesday when I go back to work. Unofficially here at home from last Saturday to yesterday (Saturday) I appear to be down another 5 or 6 lbs.

1/31/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 14" (-0")
Chest (arms up) - 49.75" (-.25")
Waist (at navel) - 49" (-1")
Hips - 50" (-0")
Right Thigh - 25.75" (-1.25")
Right Calf - 18.5" (-.25")
Neck - 19.5" (-.25")

12/26/08
Right Arm below Tricep - 14"
Chest (arms up) - 51"
Waist (at navel) - 50"
Hips - 50"
Right Thigh - 27"
Right Calf - 18.75"
Neck - 19.75"

Related post:
Baseline measurements, Day T-1

Day 28 (slightly late)

2009-03-01T12:52:00.002-06:00

Greetings campers! I'm back in black and twice as ugly. Well maybe not but at least I can tolerate looking at the computer screen today. :)

Today marks the slightly belated 28th day post of my little 28 day experiment in going raw. More posts to follow...

Exercise
-none-

Food
Breakfast
Cherry Pie Larabar

Snack
Larabar Chocolate Coconut Chew - dates, almonds, walnuts, cocoa, coconut

Lunch
celery
guacamole
banana

Dinner
smoothie - banana, kale, blueberries, cashew butter, apple, agave nectar, water

Day 27

2009-02-28T06:47:00.003-06:00

Hi Everyone. Better late than never right? It is 6:45AM and I am sitting here in goggles and sunglasses trying to type through tears. The surgery went fine although this morning I am having some pretty high sensitivity to light.

So...I'll keep this post short.

Exercise
-none-

Food
Breakfast
red grapes

Lunch
red grapes

Snack
Apple Pie Larabar

Dinner
salad
celery
gaucamole
jale chips

Day 26

2009-02-26T19:10:00.004-06:00

Exercise
I got my 30 minutes of running in this evening to finish out week 8 of my 12 week fitness program at work. Things are still feeling good. Depending how I feel next week I may put the time out further so I can work towards a full 5k distance.

Food
Breakfast
green lemonade

Lunch
green salad from the cafeteria salad bar

Dinner
dehydrated Kale Chips

the food was sparse today as I am out of everything in preparation to spend the rest of the week with the folks recouping from my surgery.

Day 25

2009-02-26T00:32:00.002-06:00

It was another fine day in raw food land today. It is late so I won't go into the details tonight but I got some good results back from my health screening blood work.

Exercise
I made it my 30 minutes today at 5.1mph, which is a 11.45 minute mile.

Eating
Breakfast/Snack
a banana
sunflower seeds

Lunch
4 apples

Dinner
a raw pot luck
individual ingredients...yeah right

Day 24

2009-02-24T23:05:00.002-06:00

Wow Day 24 almost slipped away without a blog post. I had so much to say too...well, maybe not.

I was a bit bummed earlier. I was making you guys a video blog entry tonight showing my green lemonade construction/juicing process but the dinky little memory card on my camera ran out of space. Perhaps next time.

(sorta)Exercise
As I mentioned the other day I was forced to a walking pace today in preparation for my health screening in the morning. So, no pun intended, no great strides to report today.

The Soup Kitchen
Breakfast
a glass of fresh apple juice

Snack
banana

Lunch
2 bananas
apple

Snack
sunflower seeds
apple

Dinner (over time)
glass of apple juice
glass of green lemonade
raw sauerkraut

Monday Weigh-In, Feb 23

2009-02-23T11:07:00.003-06:00

It is Monday again so it is back to the scales to see what the lords of mass and gravity have to say. Today was pretty good; my wild streak of a pound-per-day loss is now officially over.

I did, however, lose another 4 pounds this week. That brings my total up or down depending on how you are counting to 32 lbs in 35 days. Being the geek that I am that means I've lost approximately 10.1% of my body weight in a month. Wowzers!

Below you will find my weekly numbers. Bear in mind that these are skewed with me being fully clothed in jeans and a t-shirt with only my shoes and socks off. That includes all the normal stuff I have in my pockets as well.

Monday, February 23, 2009
Weight 283.6
BF% 36.7

Monday, February 16, 2009
Weight 287.8
BF% 39.2

Monday, February 09, 2009
Weight 294.2
BF% 39.2

Monday, February 02, 2009
Weight 302.4
BF% 39.5

Monday, January 26, 2009
Weight 309.4
BF% 37.7

Monday, January 19, 2009
Weight 315
BF% 34.9

Day 23

2009-02-23T11:05:00.005-06:00

Today is weigh-in Monday. I have the results on a separate post here.

Exercise
It was another day of treadmill excellence at the YMCA. I got my 2.5 miles complete in my allotted 30 minute window. I hate to push the run length much more with the warm up and cool downs included over the lunch hour so I may have to start increasing the pace next week. (assuming that I can maintain my current level)

Tomorrow I will have to reign it in because Wednesday morning I have a health screening at work and they say no vigorous exercise for 24 hours before hand. Not that I had any real baseline numbers to go from other than blood pressure and resting heart rate but I am curious to see what the bloodwork comes up as after being raw this month. I know my resting heart rate has dropped at least 10 bpm in the last month.

Galley Line
Breakfast
gala apple
banana

Snack
Cinnamon Roll Larabar (dates, walnuts, almonds, raisins, cashews, cinnamon)

Lunch
2 bananas
gala apples

Snack
Apple Pie Larabar (dates, almonds, apples, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon)

Dinner
Hy-Vee Salad Bar Buffet w/
romaine lettuce
baby greens
celery
peas
grape tomatoes
broccoli
red onion
vinegar and oil

mushrooms
cucumbers and onions in vinegar/water

strawberries

What is in my kitchen

2009-02-22T22:41:00.001-06:00

I doesn't really take much to stock a simple raw kitchen.

Day 22

2009-02-22T22:37:00.002-06:00

Greetings everyone...

Exercise
-none-

Food
Breakfast
2 banana, almond butter, cacao nib smoothie

Lunch
-skipped-

Snack
cacao-goji energy nuggets

Dinner
guacamole
celery
freshly juiced apple juice

Day 21

2009-02-21T23:36:00.002-06:00

We have reached the end of week three of the four week challenge. I would say that I am in the home stretch but I do plan to stay highly raw once this month is over.

I mentioned it to the folks but I found it funny that I can remember in exquisite detail what some of my favorite foods taste like. I feel like a combat vet getting ready to ship home and am making plans of everything that I want to have once the 28 days are up. Then I get over it and feel like I could continue eating this way for quite a while.

Time will tell.

Exercise
-none-

Eating
Breakfast/Snack
-overslept-

Lunch
big salad
sauerkraut

Dinner
2 bananas
banana, almond butter, cacao nib smoothie

Day 20

2009-02-20T23:04:00.002-06:00

Not much on the pithy comments tonight, I am a bit tired and the post is coming late.

Exercise
One reason for above-said tiredness is that today I decided to go for distance instead of pace on the workout. If you've followed along on my exercise performance you have seen that my current average is 2 miles at a 12 minute pace, meaning 24 minutes.

Today being the last day of my mini-streak of 5 days, for giggles I ran the whole 30 minutes of my usual time at a 12 minute mile pace. Woo-hoo. At my current pace that would put my 5k time down to about 37 minutes, which is nice since I did the Groundhog Run at the end of January in 50 minutes. Not bad, I knocked 13 minutes off my time in a month. (assuming that I can extend my pace out the rest of the way)

Food
Breakfast/Snack
gala apple
fig

Lunch
2 gala apples
medjool dates

Dinner
macadamia nuts

Day 19

2009-02-19T11:42:00.003-06:00

You know what I just discovered I am? I am a culinary hypocrite. I just got home from a Green Drinks meeting where the topic was CSAs; that is community supported agriculture if you didn't know. You basically purchase a share of the harvest from a farmer and get a portion of it doled out every week as it ripens throughout the growing season. Anyway, it was important enough to me to make an hour round trip drive time and participate in a Meetup group I have not ever attended since I became a member more than 8 months ago.

Why am I a hypocrite? I hadn't had dinner yet and with nothing in the apartment to eat I stopped at the store on the way home. What did I purchase? Honduran bananas, Chilean grapes and Greek figs. So much for grown local, grown fresh.

The good news is that I now have a bunch of CSA resources to look through so I can help support a local farmer or two.

Exercise
I made my 24 minutes running today with no troubles. I kicked the pace up another 1/10th of a mile so I cut 30 seconds off my 2 mile time. I can't decide whether I want to increase the pace or run longer tomorrow...it is the last workout of the week. Guess I'll figure it out when I get there.

Food
Breakfast
a bunch of red grapes

Snack
Cashew Cookie Larabar (cashews, dates)

Lunch
salsa soup

Snack
Chocolate Coconut Chew Larabar (dates, almonds, walnuts, cocoa powder, coconut)
gala apple

Dinner
another bunch of red grapes

Day 18

2009-02-18T22:12:00.002-06:00

One thing about trying to blog the perceived changes that you go through on something like a month long challenge is I am noticing that I don't really pay that much attention to the little things happening to me throughout the day. We tend to get in the work zone and block out external stimulus that does not apply to solving the current problem.

That said I have noticed a few things today:

I am getting more leg clearance under the steering wheel of my truck. Kinda cool, I must be getting toned.
My, ehem, love handles are shrinking. I see that as a sign of more smaller jeans before long. Pretty soon the song I just don't look good naked any more won't apply.
My XXL shirts are looking a little baggy on me.
It is nice getting into my smaller jeans this week.
I feel restless if I can't make it to work out on my regular schedule. (I had to go this evening instead of my lunch break)
I appear to be growing a neck! :)

It is the little things you notice along the way that help to give you the confidence and will power to continue when you really want to eat something bad.

Exercise
Day 3 of my mini-streak is in the books although a bit later than I had planned. We had an exercise watch emergency today and I had to give mine up until late this afternoon. I got my 2 miles in tonight with the usual effort. I did have a time drag around 8 minutes in but must have caught my second wind for the rest.

Food
Breakfast
green lemonade

Snack
green grapes

Lunch
salsa 'soup' (fresh salsa with more tomatoes added)

Snack
green grapes
sunflower seeds

Dinner
green lemonade
some celery dipped in:
raw mock ranch dressing (a new recipe...I've gotta cut the salt and/or lemon juice in half next time, whoo)

kinda light tonight...either the saltiness killed my hunger or it could have just been this evening's exercise suppressing my appetite

Day 17

2009-02-17T22:36:00.002-06:00

I am beginning to see why so many bloggers post intermittently or quit altogether. It almost becomes a chore to chronicle things every day. What to say; what to post that can keep a blog interesting. I can't keep you coming back on sex appeal alone. Considering I haven't posted a picture, my rugged good looks won't do much good either.

Guess it will have to be the facts, just the facts ma'am.

One major thing that I feel is contributing to my weight loss is my food quantity consumed. Before I started the raw challenge it was the norm that I pretty much went to buffets most work days with the guys. Mexican, Chinese, pizza, Indian and the occasional salad buffet. I had serious thoughts about trying to break the all-you-could-eat-taco record of 24 but didn't want the guys waiting on me to head back to work (I made it up to 15 a couple times with appetite to spare).

One comment my Mom made a month or so back about a show she saw on lap band patients is that their bodies could run on just 4 ounces of food since that was the new restricted size of their stomachs. Between them and calorie restricted diet folks they thrive and survive on much less than the average person.

My daily volume of food consumed has dropped way down in the last two weeks from what it was. One additional conscious effort I am making is to have snacks and dinner to keep my metabolism high. Before I would hit the buffets at lunch and still be stuffed at night so I would skip dinner. I may be having less now but I do think I am eating better.

Exercise
My goal is to do a 5-day streak this week to get my 4 workouts in and make up the 1 from last week I missed. I got my 2 miles in today but it was a bit more effort involved. It could have been a couple factors in the mix: the attendant at the YMCA said it was hotter in the building today than yesterday. The other thing I considered is that I only got about 6 hours of sleep last night so perhaps my workout recovery was not complete.

There's Food?
It was a weird day today related to food. I just kinda grazed all day, no structured meals at all.

Breakfast/Snack
banana
almonds
a date before the run

Lunch/Snack
dates
banana
sunflower seeds

Dinner
a small glass of Green Lemonade from the batch I juiced
small amount of salsa 'soup' from the batch I made for tomorrow
celery tops and cuttings I had while making the above

If I want to try for my 8 hours of rest tonight for my workout recovery I had better cut this short. I say that of course as I type one of my longer posts...go figure. Catch you tomorrow everyone.

Day 16

2009-02-16T14:25:00.002-06:00

Well it is Monday again. That means it is weigh-in time again and I made a separate post on the subject here. An unexpected but happy result.

Today I am over my pizza cravings and am buckling down for the push to the end of the month. Will I stay completely raw after that? Probably not but at this point who knows...after a month my body may not be able to handle cooked foods any more.

Exercise
I was back in the saddle again today with the workout. 24 minutes at a 12 min/mile pace was not a problem. Plenty of wind power and leg strength left to keep going if I wanted to. I don't know if it was a bug that my system was fighting off or a quick bout of detox as someone else suggested but I am glad it is over.

Food
Breakfast/Snack
gala apple
banana
2 Larabars
handful of raw almonds

Lunch
2 bananas
almonds

Snack
gala apple

Dinner
salad with:
baby greens
radish
yellow onion
dulse flakes
balsamic vinegar
sesame oil
Braggs Liquid Aminos

Monday Weigh-In, February 16

2009-02-16T14:19:00.005-06:00

I wasn't really expecting much to happen this last week. However, but much to my surprise, I still lost another 7 pounds.

That makes 28 lbs in the last 28 days. Who would have thunk it?

I am somewhat incredulous and can't see how I can sustain that rate of loss but I'll take it while I can get it.

I discovered over the weekend that I can now fit into my next-smaller pants. That is always a good thing when your clothing selection expands instead of the waistline.

Stay tuned campers and we will see what happens next week. Same bat station, same bat time...

Day 15

2009-02-15T21:39:00.002-06:00

How about that? Two weeks completed on the 28 day challenge. All in all I think that it has been a positive experience so far. My mood seems to be more upbeat and with the exception of the last two days my athletic performance and energy has greatly increased being on raw.

I made an interesting observation this evening. I spend the day with my folks & Mom and I watched a couple shows on Animal Planet (a dog show) and the Family Channel (Cars). The thing I noticed was all of the food commercials. By the end of the evening I was completely dissatisfied with being raw and all I want to do is have a pizza and a burger. Those commercials bombarding you every five minutes over and over again really do begin to have an effect after a while. It just leeches into your subconscious mind. I'm glad I cut my cable. If they can do that with food just think about everything thing else we get mentally pounded away with on the other ads.

Exercise
Nothing today except to help move some furniture up and down stairs. My sore arms from yesterday's class tells me I definitely need to do resistance or body weight training beyond just cardio. I'll try to slay the treadmill monster tomorrow to see if I am over my exercise slump. Tomorrow is weigh-in day too!

Food
Lunch
a fresh pineapple...almost all of it

Dinner
celery
guacamole
(I'm going to eat something else besides this I promise)

gala apple

Day 14

2009-02-14T23:14:00.002-06:00

You ever have one of those days where you knew things were not going to work out? Today was that day for me when it came to exercise.

Exercise
After enjoying another good talk by Brandon on immune system health I tried a one hour combo boot camp-calisthenics-yoga class led by Natalie.

I knew something might be off because all day up until then my hands had been cold. My exercise fatigue from yesterday continued this afternoon after only a few minutes with me getting pasty white, out of breath and a cold sweat. I had to leave the class and even had a raw cookie thinking it might be low blood sugar but that did not seem to help. (this happened 2 hours after I had the 400 calories of fruit and nuts from the Larabars + Brandon's drink so I don't think glucose was the problem) After about 20 minutes I finally managed to walk it off.

Food
Breakfast
-none-

Lunch
Pecan Pie Larabar
Banana Bread Larabar
An energy herbal tonic by Brandon

Dinner
salad:
bagged italian mix
radish
carrot chips
roma tomato
broccoli
red onion
green onion
balsamic vinegar and olive oil

celery
guacamole

Day 13

2009-02-13T11:27:00.003-06:00

Welcome to Friday the 13th. Hopefully everybody's luck is holding out today with no scariness in sight.

The food item for the day is...buttered popcorn. Yes, the office mates tempted me this morning by having popcorn. Pure torture; cruel and unusual punishment on a Friday no less. I've come to the conclusion that smell invokes a conditioned Pavlovian response in us for all the years we grew up going to the movies and watching videos at home.

Exercise
Well it finally happened. My luck ran out today (no pun intended). I was looking for it but it hit me right smack in the face. The Wall.

I noticed that about five minutes into the run today that it seemed a bit harder from yesterday but at the 15 minute mark I just could not maintain my run pace. I pretty much had to walk out the rest of my time today.

I shouldn't be upset and I'm not really. I've went from 7 minutes @ 4.5mph to 24 minutes @ 5.0mph in two weeks. That is a pretty huge performance jump in a short time.

Was it overtraining in the short term? Could it be the Restasis drops the Doc put me on for my PRK surgery in two weeks? He also had me start vitamin C and E suppliments to offset the immunosuppressant properties of the drops. This is day 3 for those additions & I am noticing a little runny nose. Obviously I am eating about the same foods from last week. So what was the root cause today?

The Chow Line
Breakfast
2 bananas

Snack
Cherry Pie Larabar

Lunch
celery
guacamole

Snack
Cherry Pie Larabar

Dinner
celery
baby carrots
guacamole

One source of my raw inspiration, Tim VanOrden

2009-02-12T20:41:00.003-06:00

This is something of a cop-out post but part of why I decided to challenge myself to go raw for a month is because of Tim VanOrden of the Running Raw Project. Tim came to town and gave a talk to members of the local raw foods group in Kansas City last fall. Should you hear of him coming close to your area I would highly recommend that you take some time and listen to what he has to day. He might just change how you see things.

Any way, I will let you enjoy some of his YouTube videos. A complete list of his vids are at http://www.youtube.com/user/runningraw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRAD3j56_Zg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIP_OayjSMw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRqc3FLQ88k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JaOoTi6xXg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSKYHxQh_5M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC63D8ru9t8

Day 12

2009-02-12T19:18:00.002-06:00

I had something of an epiphany this afternoon. I was pondering the salad that I ate last night and it struck me that I really would not miss the commercial salad dressings that much if I gave them up. The basic vinegar and olive oil had a good taste. The veggies were not overwhelmed and had a nice flavor as well. I think I will have to withdraw one of my two raw challenge exceptions.

All that leaves is herbal tea.

Exercise
I decided to kick the intensity up a little more today by increasing my pace on the treadmill. I shaved another minute off my mile time, running 2 miles in 24 minutes. I noticed that the breathing was slightly harder at the end and that I hit my max heart rate today of 186. Oddly enough my legs were really not that tired.

All you fitness types out there. What do I work on, lower intensity aerobic cardio to get my heart rate down or keep pounding with the run while letting my fitness level catch up? What is the best way to increase running fitness?

Eating
Breakfast
banana
raw sunflower seeds

Lunch
3 bananas

Snack
Apple Pie Larabar (a raw snack bar)

Dinner
aromatic guacamole
celery

Day 11

2009-02-11T23:05:00.002-06:00

Nothing much to report today...I was too busy to pay attention to my cravings. Luckily I can read the computer screen now. I had my eyes dilated for the pre-vision correction exam. Bang! Instant bifocal vision. I could see distance fine with my glasses on but everything was blurry up close. If I took the glasses off I could read my watch.

Exercise
Another day with errands from 12:30-9:30pm so no exercise today. Looks like I'm into the weekend now if I want to make my 4 for the week. Luckily there are at least 2 exercise sessions happening with the local raw foods gang.

Food
Lunch
3 or 4 bananas, I can't remember...I know I started with 9 on the bunch

Snack
Ginger Peach Tea

Dinner
salad w/:
bagged italian mix
carrot
radish
celery
mushroom
broccoli
vinegar & oil

Day 10

2009-02-10T21:29:00.002-06:00

You ever have one of those days where everything goes slow and you feel like you are continually playing catch up? Today was one of those.

All I have to say is never buy fresh fruit from a cafeteria where the chilled cut fruit cup is $3 and the fresh is off in the corner without a price tag. I ended up paying $4 for 3 scrawny bananas and an apple. Half the bananas were inedible because the interior was so bruised and beat up. Oh well, lesson learned; bring something with me to work or slip out to the store when nobody is looking.

Exercise
I managed to squeeze in the 30 minute session today around meetings and problem solving. I ran the whole core time of 24 minutes at a 13 minute mile pace (4.6mph).

The chow
Breakfast
3 (score it as 2) bananas
a fuji apple

Lunch
a large salad with...
baby romaine
yellow onion
baby carrot
roma tomato
dulse flakes

Dinner
I had the Hy-Vee salad bar buffet for dinner...
romaine
carrot
alfalfa sprouts
jalapeno
vinegar & oil dressing

peas
corn

pineapple
strawberries
red grapes

Day 9

2009-02-09T22:07:00.002-06:00

Welcome to week 2 of the Ricky Rudd Driving School. Just kidding.

Well if you saw my other post today you will see that I managed to misplace another 8 pounds this week. If you happen to find them somewhere, well, you can keep 'em. I don't want them back.

I attended an Eckhart Tolle meetup group this evening where we had a discussion on chapter 1 of his book The Power of Now. One topic discussed the separation of the pleasure/pain body from the emotion of joy experienced by remaining in the present moment. Do you think that when we fixate on a 'diet' and experience success with a certain methodology of eating or exercise that we set ourselves up for failure by expecting our success to continue over and over again? I know I am being unrealistic but I don't want my rate of loss to slow down. I know it will happen and when it does I will probably be irritated. 21 lbs in 3 weeks is a pretty good accomplishment but I don't think I can keep up the pace indefinitely. Not that I plan to slow down but it isn't very realistic to expect it to continue like it has.

Exercise
I was chasing my tail today with appointments, meetings and meetups so I did not make it for my run. Looks like a 4 day mini-streak this week.

Food, what food?
With everything going on I didn't get around to eating much today...
4 gala apples
some raw sauerkraut
32oz water

Tomorrow's lunch salad is pre-made and in the fridge.

I know there are at least a few folks reading the blog. I notice that my diary/log style posts are pretty dry and do not express much entertainment or informational substance. Are there any questions you have of me or something you would like me to watch for or pay attention to? Energy levels, physical or behavioral characteristics?

Monday Weigh-In Feb 9

2009-02-09T09:04:00.002-06:00

Once again it is weigh-in Monday. I do cheat and watch my numbers on the scale at the YMCA but it is always nice to see them drop more when it is "official".

Today's numbers:

Weight - 294
Body Fat % - 39.2

So, after the first week raw I am down 8 lbs. The running total for the last three weeks is 21 lbs. Woo-Hoo!

Well, back to work. I just wanted to share the news and my effervescent glee with you all.

Day 8

2009-02-08T16:01:00.003-06:00

Today is a quiet, lazy day.

My temptations of the day were from the family's houses when Mom fixed lasagna for Dad. Oh that smelled goood. I resisted. That and Grandma's cookie/zinger jar was an exercise in will power. Who can say no to Grandma? Apparently I could today...

The Food
Breakfast
peppermint tea

Lunch
A blended smoothie:
water
goji berries
3oz blueberries
2 bananas
a gala apple
2 medjool dates
hemp seed

Dinner
water
a big salad with:
romaine
mushroom
bell pepper
red onion
celery
carrot
radish
zesty italian

dessert/snack
dates with pecans
peppermint tea

Day 7

2009-02-07T18:49:00.002-06:00

Today marks the 1 week point of my 28 day challenge. While I admit I've had more than one temptation I've managed to avoid giving in to them.

Today I attended an event put on by my friend Brandon from one of the Raw Food Meetup groups here in Kansas City. His class today was entitled Herbal Alchemy 101, Creating the Ultimate Elixir. It was cool stuff, making a drink with vitalized, structured water, mesquite powder, goji berries, cacao powder, coconut oil, chia seeds, stevia and concentrated medicinal herbs. Brandon is an amazing source of knowledge...if you are in the area I would highly encourage you to come check him out or visit his tonic bar. Maybe next week I can record the audio.

Exercise
Nothing today. I have gotten my four sessions in for the week and will take the weekends off unless I have a race or get behind schedule.

Bring on the Food
Breakfast
-none-, I overslept

Lunch
A general health, chocolate cacao drink prepared by Brandon.

Snack
Tried some raw sauerkraut at Whole Foods after Brandon's presentation
Infinitea Kombucha Tea - an interesting taste experience but, pardon the pun, not my cup of tea. I purchased it at Whole Foods.

Dinner
Big honkin' salad - uh, I'm stuffed:
Romaine Mix with carrot and red cabbage
broccoli
mushroom
bell pepper strips
cucumber
tomato
red and white onion
celery
radish
hemp seed

Bubbies Sauerkraut - I liked it so well I bought a jar...its good. Just cabbage, water and salt.

Day 6

2009-02-06T21:58:00.002-06:00

Greetings programs! (Tron movie reference) I hope this Friday has treated you all well. As you may have already guessed I have regained my energy, enthusiasm and am back to my happy ol' self today.

Exercise
With the return of my energy I decided to fill out my 30 minutes today with running. I had the 3 minute warm up and cool down but maintained my jog at a steady pace for 24 minutes. Had a good sweat going and cracked 180 on the heart rate towards the end but I could still almost talk. I wanted to sing along with the radio but didn't quite have enough wind to do it. At any rate it was a good day. I may have to increase my pace next week.

Eating
Breakfast
gala apples
water

Lunch
fresh guacamole (or as the office mates called it, garlic with a little avocado)
eaten with celery

Dinner
wasn't too hungry so light eating tonight, just finished off my jar of cashew butter with a spoon

Until tomorrow...

Day 5

2009-02-05T20:45:00.002-06:00

It was a so-so day today. I wasn't my perky self or having my usual spark today. I don't know if I was exercising too much too soon or if I didn't get a big enough caloric intake for dinner last night but I felt kinda tired all day. If dinner was the culprit then I should be bouncing off the walls tomorrow cuz I'm stuffed at the moment.

Here in KC it is suppose to be windy and 68 tomorrow so I plan to get outside in the nice weather to soak up some rays for a bit. Y'all know that scene in Superman Returns where he flies up above the clouds to recharge in the sun before attacking the kryptonite landmass in the last dramatic scene? I fancy myself doing the same thing in the breeze and sunlight. Just close your eyes and feel the heat on your skin, energizing you. Make like a Jedi and draw your strength from the Force that surrounds you and all living things.

As an aside, I noticed last June when I did a fruit-centered 80-10-10 diet for a month that I could tolerate the heat of summer a lot better and my fair Irish skin did not seem to burn as much either. Maybe it was because I wasn't covered in an oily sheen from my old diet but I found that just as impressive as my boost in energy.

Exercise
As I said I wasn't feeling especially energetic so I did a light workout according to this week's plan. I did a brisk walk for my time at a Zone 2 heart rate intensity level. In my case Zone 2 is 138-150 beats per minute. Figured I would give my legs a little breather.

Food
Breakfast
peach tea
gala apple

Lunch
medjool dates
gala apples

Dinner
freshly made guacamole with
baby carrots
celery
water

Day 4

2009-02-04T20:10:00.003-06:00

Last week there was a post over on Zen Habits entitled 10 Reasons Eating Raw is Healthier For You and the Planet. While from my past experience with eating raw I can identify with most of the author's points what really struck me was the quantity and ferocity of the comments.

People are very passionate about food and all sides are staunch defenders of their points of view. While I will let you read my comment on the towards the bottom on Jan. 30th just remember each of us is different. What works best for one may not work for another, the raw foodies, the cooked crowd and the moderates alike. That is a small reason why I started this blog, to show one person's experience and what I did to achieve it.

Exercise
Today I still had the Energizer Batteries in me somewhere and just let the treadmill go. After my 3 minute warm up I set my jog pace and went for 22 minutes straight. I finished off the 30 minutes with a cool down walk. It is interesting considering last week I was doing good to make it 8 minutes jogging eating the SAD diet. No foot pains today so the running socks helped. (Thanks Mom!) :)

Eating
Breakfast
Sweet & Spicy Tea
medjool dates

Snack
raw sunflower nuts

Lunch
medjool dates
gala apples

Dinner
Energizing/Vitalizing raw herbal drink by my friend Brandon at the Herbal Infusion Tonic Bar in Overland Park...

This drink has water, goji berries, agave nectar, cacao powder, Chinese medicinal herbs and bunch of other good-for-you ingredients that I can't remember at the moment. Yummy.

As a side note, I know it isn't "official" but according to YMCA scale I am down another 6 lbs from my post run weigh in on Sunday. Not bad for 3 days; next Monday should be fun. :)

Day 3

2009-02-03T20:29:00.002-06:00

Day 3 had me feeling energetic and alert this morning. Is it the food or just getting to bed before midnight for a change? Could be both. Either way one of my office-mates commented that I was way too happy this morning when he came in.

Exercise
Still no weekly group exercise program from Natalie today so I hopped on the treadmill for my 30 minutes over lunch. I decided that I would just set the pace at my jog level and go with it. I did a spurt of 15 minutes and another of 5 minutes between walking breaks before my time was up. I wasn't really that winded either though my heart rate was around 170 at the end. I think that eating lighter food and meals does help my breathing. On another note I guess I will have to switch to my running socks vs street socks since I almost gave myself a blister today.

Was a bit muscle fatigued and sleepy the rest of the afternoon.

Food
The office buddies were being mean today trying to get me to talk about the best foods around so they could figure out where to go for lunch. It had my mouth watering but I went to run over lunch. I figure that will keep me good better than a lot of things would.

Tonight my temptation was looking at me in the guise of an easy dinner...my loaf of bread and processed peanut butter. I did not cave, I had a spoon-full of raw cashew butter instead to take the edge off.

Breakfast
blueberries
raw sunflower seeds

Snack
Sweet & Spicy Tea

Lunch (after workout)
medjool dates
water

Snack
Republic of Tea - Decaf Ginger Peach Tea

Dinner
Salad with organic iceberg and baby romaine lettuce and...
baby carrots
stoplight bell pepper strips
grape tomatoes
hemp seed
lite raspberry vinaigrette
Bragg Liquid Aminos

Feb 2, Day 2

2009-02-02T18:52:00.003-06:00

The at-work kick-off of my challenge seemed to be a fair success today. I told several coworkers that I plan to be raw for a month but other than a couple raised eyebrows only one had any real negativity to express. It was more of an atmosphere of everybody teasing me about the great restaurants they were going to go to this week. Are you sure you don't want to come with us? Those devils!

The closest non-raw thing to tempt me today was a bag of roasted sunflower seeds. All that reminds me to do is take the raw sunflower nuts I have here to work in the morning. Problem solved.

I have not gotten the new workout plan for the week yet so it looks like I get a night off unless I feel especially energetic. Yeah, no; I've a blog post to write. I have not mentioned it yet but the 12-week program has me doing cardio for a minimum of 30 minutes 4 times a week.

Weigh-In
As I mentioned in my last post Mondays are the "official" weigh-in days for the fitness program. We are using one of those fancy scales that you operate barefoot and it will also take a body fat percentage reading. I do not know the model or manufacturer but I can post it later if you ask.

In my intro I confessed that two weeks ago I weighed 315. That is true. I do however have a total of 3 readings to share today.

1/19/09 - Official Starting Weight
Weight - 315
BF% - 34.9

1/26/09
Weight - 309
BF% - 37.7

2/02/09
Weight - 302
BF% - 39.5

So there you go. For the last two weeks I am down 13 lbs. Perhaps I was a little premature to complain about my weight loss. While that is certainly nothing to sneeze at I do find it interesting that my body fat percentage is going up. So what does that tell me? I've lost 4.1% of my body weight in the last two weeks but by body fat went up 4.6%. You saw my month-to-month measurement post. BF% is a new item for me to track. Am I breaking down leg muscle mass with the exercise and not regaining it? Do I need to add upper body resistance training?

Arnold Schwarzenegger said when he competed in bodybuilding that he tried for symmetry by getting his calves to be the same size as his biceps. I have a ways to go, the opposite direction...my biceps have to catch up with my calves. :)

Day 2
After the weigh-in came the food, today I stuck to the plan.

Breakfast:
2 Black Plums

Snack:
Good Earth Original Sweet & Spicy Tea (decaf)
dried Goji berries

Lunch
Large organic spring mix salad with...
radish
grape tomatoes
green onion
yellow onion
hemp seed
Zesty Italian dressing

water

Snack
more dried Goji berries

Dinner
Jicama Fries

Until tomorrow friends. My Jicama is calling to me...

Baseline measurements Day T-1

2009-02-01T21:33:00.003-06:00

If you were curious I thought I would post my initial and most recent measurements. I took my initial measurements after Christmas before I started my 12 week fitness program for the new year through work.

12/26/08
Right Arm below Tricep - 14"
Chest (arms up) - 51"
Waist (at navel) - 50"
Hips - 50"
Right Thigh - 27"
Right Calf - 18.75"
Neck - 19.75"

At the end of 4 weeks basic cardio training on the treadmill with my fitness program here are my new measurements.

1/31/09
Right Arm below Tricep - 14"
Chest (arms up) - 49.75"
Waist (at navel) - 49"
Hips - 50"
Right Thigh - 25.75"
Right Calf - 18.5"
Neck - 19.5"

As you can see I am built pretty solid to put it mildly. The weekly weigh-in is tomorrow for the 12-week program so we'll see what my starting point it for the month.

Feb 1, Day 1

2009-02-01T20:40:00.006-06:00

What better way to start a 28 day challenge than the 1st day of a 28 day month? I couldn't thing of one either. So here goes.

I am struggling over a few ground rules, i.e. if I should make any exceptions to the basic eating raw rules. The one that is sticking at me right now is I think I will allow myself to have non-raw beverages. That is to say I can cut myself off of the coffee and pop but I do like tea and at times I WANT something hot. I've have read that raw foodies do tend to experience a slightly lower than normal body temperature. I can vouch for that in the limited raw excursions I have made in the past. So...I am going to attempt to limit myself to herbal teas and probiotic stuff that may become available with my local raw community.

One other thing I can think of as the month progresses that I may want that is cooked is a little store-bought dressing on my salad. I have stuff already bought and it is vinigar/oil based Italian type dressings so it is not all sweet, cheesy or bad-fatty like French, Caesar or Thousand Island. If I run out or get all guilt-ridden about it I will just make my own from scratch. :)

OK, enough blathering on.

Day 1.
I decided that I should try to let my digestive system rest before my transition so today I have had nothing but water and a 15oz bottle of Pomegranate Blueberry Naked Juice. Yes I know it is pasteurized so it doesn't exactly qualify as raw but it is just juice with no other sugar or preservatives added (according to the bottle). It was one-off purchase when I was buying other raw groceries, although it was quite good. Just 300 calories for the day, woo-hoo. I figured it was better for me than the lychee bubble tea I was really wanting to get on the way home.

I know Paul Bragg in his Miracle of Fasting book recommends fasting one day a week but at this point I will just use fasting as a method of transition.

Just because my guts rested today didn't mean I did. I did without the SuperBowl (I assume since I don't know when it came on) and went to the local YMCA and got on the treadmil instead. I am ramping myself up to run full 5k's again. With the warm up, cool down, walking and running sturts I ran for 10, 5 and 2.5 minute clips for a total workout of 40 minutes. According to the results uploaded from my Garmin Forerunner 50 watch I burned 444 calories. A net negative for the day not even counting base metabolic rate.

If I can keep that up forever I should reach my weight goal in no time. :)

Who, What & Why

2009-02-01T19:50:00.005-06:00

Who am I?
Hi all, my name is Jim Snider and as of two weeks ago I was 315 lbs. I feel like I'm in a 12 step program with an intro like that. Anyway...I am a software engineer at a well known consumer electronics company in the Kansas City metro area. I am a single, 34 year old guy who since the age of 8 has struggled with my weight.

What am I doing and why?
A few friends know that I am trying to reinvent myself this year. The end of February will see me, no pun intended, getting PRK eye surgery. I am also currently participating in a 12 week fitness program administered by my friend Natalie through work to get myself back into shape...but 4 weeks into it I am not seeing the weight loss that I am looking for.

Here is my experiment. I am challenging myself to go raw or as close as possible for the next 28 days.

I know it is very Morgan Spurlock of me but I want to see how my health and weight do in a month along with my ongoing exercise program. I will attempt to log the daily foods that I eat and note my exercise as well since I am accountable to Natalie for that already. More posts on those later.